Rep. Kaptur Heralds Vote to Allow USDA Protections for U.S. Chicken Farmers

WASHINGTON, D.C.— Today Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) recognized the Members of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture for their landmark vote for an appropriations bill that would allow the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to move forward with a proposed rule protecting the First Amendment rights of America’s chicken farmers.

“Poultry farmers today suffer untold abuses at the hands of the contract poultry industry, abuses that are illegal and unconstitutional,” said Rep Kaptur. “Today’s subcommittee vote brings us a step closer to protecting the rights of these farmers to speak, assemble, and petition their government. I urge my colleagues to build on the subcommittee's leadership today in support of these basic rights.”

Rep. Chellie Pingree(D-ME), said “The battle to protect the basic right for poultry farmers to speak freely had been going on for nearly two decades--and so far this is the closest we've come to winning they fight. And we wouldn't be this close if it weren't for the perseverance of congresswoman Kaptur, and of course the power of John Oliver." Rep. Pingree is a farmer by trade and has championed the rights of farmers since coming to Congress. She sits on the House Appropriations Agriculture subcommittee that approved the base bill today allowing for the enforcement of protections for the rights of chicken farmers.

The 2008 Farm Bill directed USDA to develop protections for farmers that were facing industry abuses that seemed to be widespread. For two years, USDA interviewed farmers, processors, and other industry stakeholders about deceptive practices and retaliation taking place in the industry. Many growers made public statements that they had been intimidated or threatened by their processing companies for even participating in a public hearing.

In 2010 USDA announced a proposed rule to address these abuses and correct certain market imbalances. One of these rules prohibits industry retaliation “in response to the lawful expression, spoken or written association, or action of a poultry grower.” However, due to funding restrictions targeted to the proposed rule, the law continues to go un-enforced and the First Amendment rights of farmers continue to go un-protected. Today the Agriculture Appropriations subcommittee voted to approve a bill that does not include those funding restrictions and allows USDA to move forward with its proposed rule.

When USDA first announced its proposed rule, poultry growers earned an average of $0.34 per bird while their processing company made $3.23 for that same bird. Little has changed since then.

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